I had two neat experiences with my girls yesterday. The first was during Sacrament Meeting. Anna was sitting next to me. One of her favorite things to do is to pull my arm or hand to her, kiss it, give me a hug, and then tell me what she just did. This time was a little different, though. She pulled my hand over and kissed it. Then she told me that she gave me kisses of love. She told me she also gave them to Daddy. As the day progressed, she added to this statement. She gave us kisses of love that put real hearts into our bodies that disappeared and gave us blood so we could live.
When she first told me she was giving me kisses of love, I was touched at the sentiment. Children are so full of love, and it is a lesson to us all. We could all learn from their easy way of giving unconditional love. As I thought about her added information, though, I realized how true it was. She told us that the kisses turned into hearts that turned into blood so we could live. While the mechanics of this statement are obviously not accurate, the sentiment is.
We all live on love. Without love, we have a hard time surviving. Jesus taught us to live on love. He taught us to give it away freely and show it through service. He taught us that we should love everyone, even our enemies. Jesus was a perfect example of this. This is a great thing for us to remember during this Christmas season.
The second neat experience I had yesterday was with Katie. Daddy had been reading the girls a story and cuddling them. When he needed to put them down and send them into a different room so he could do some things alone, Katie was broken-hearted. She loves Daddy so much and did NOT want him to leave. I picked her up, and she was just sobbing the biggest and most heart-felt sobs a two-year-old can muster.
I sat down in the chair with her. I had the First Presidency Christmas Devotional on the tv, and they had a picture of Jesus on the screen. I said, "Katie, LOOK! It's Jesus!" She immediately stopped crying and started yelling excitedly, "JESUS! JESUS!" Over the next few minutes, they had several different pictures of Jesus on the screen and she would yell his name each time.
This struck me with the immediate change of her demeanor when she saw Jesus. She went from a broken heart to pure elation in a split second. We could all learn from little children. We should all get that excited to see or hear from/about our Savior.
Just some thoughts.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Temple Pictures
Blogging about the Vernal Temple trip yesterday made me think of another experience I had doing that Laurel Project visiting all the temples in Utah. Part of that goal was to document all my trips by taking pictures of the temples when we visited them. I then compiled all the pictures into a binder.
I had an interesting experience doing the pictures for the Salt Lake Temple. We took a ton of pictures the day I did baptisms there, both from the grounds and from a tall building across the street. I had an entire roll of film of beautiful pictures of the temple. This was back in the days when you used film and had to take it in to be developed. Then you got your pictures a week or so later and got to see them for the first time.
I remember thinking the pictures of the Salt Lake Temple came out absolutely beautiful. I was so excited about them. Well, they disappeared. I had the pictures in the envelope they came in. They were somewhere in my room. Then they were gone. I never did figure out where they went. They honestly disappeared. I moved in and out of that room a couple times since then, and they never surfaced. I had NO idea where they went, couldn't find them anywhere, and wasn't sure what to do about the book I was making.
Fortunately, this happened with a temple that we had easy access to, since we lived close by. Mom took me downtown and we used another roll of film and took more pictures. When we went to pick up this second set of pictures, the lab had no idea where they were or what we were talking about. The project seemed cursed.
I remember wondering what Satan was doing to my pictures and why he seemed so determined I wouldn't have pictures of the Salt Lake Temple in my book. I prayed so hard to get this second roll of film back so I could finish my project. In the end, the lab found the second roll of pictures. The roll of film had been a sample we'd gotten somewhere and they'd had to send the roll to a different lab to be developed, so it just took longer than the normal process. In the end, I got pictures of all the temples in my book.
Sometimes we think things are cursed and that they are just doomed to fail. However, sometimes we simply need to have patience and wait it out. Things work out for the best as long as we are doing everything we can. If we pray and listen for answers, they will come. Sometimes we just have to be patient.
I had an interesting experience doing the pictures for the Salt Lake Temple. We took a ton of pictures the day I did baptisms there, both from the grounds and from a tall building across the street. I had an entire roll of film of beautiful pictures of the temple. This was back in the days when you used film and had to take it in to be developed. Then you got your pictures a week or so later and got to see them for the first time.
I remember thinking the pictures of the Salt Lake Temple came out absolutely beautiful. I was so excited about them. Well, they disappeared. I had the pictures in the envelope they came in. They were somewhere in my room. Then they were gone. I never did figure out where they went. They honestly disappeared. I moved in and out of that room a couple times since then, and they never surfaced. I had NO idea where they went, couldn't find them anywhere, and wasn't sure what to do about the book I was making.
Fortunately, this happened with a temple that we had easy access to, since we lived close by. Mom took me downtown and we used another roll of film and took more pictures. When we went to pick up this second set of pictures, the lab had no idea where they were or what we were talking about. The project seemed cursed.
I remember wondering what Satan was doing to my pictures and why he seemed so determined I wouldn't have pictures of the Salt Lake Temple in my book. I prayed so hard to get this second roll of film back so I could finish my project. In the end, the lab found the second roll of pictures. The roll of film had been a sample we'd gotten somewhere and they'd had to send the roll to a different lab to be developed, so it just took longer than the normal process. In the end, I got pictures of all the temples in my book.
Sometimes we think things are cursed and that they are just doomed to fail. However, sometimes we simply need to have patience and wait it out. Things work out for the best as long as we are doing everything we can. If we pray and listen for answers, they will come. Sometimes we just have to be patient.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
The Vernal Temple
Yesterday, I was reminded of an experience my mom and I had while I was in high school. This was back before they revamped the Young Womanhood Medallion- Personal Progress program. For one of my Laurel Projects (a service project to take at least 20 hours), I decided to do Baptisms for the Dead in every temple in Utah. (A much smaller number back then than it is now...)
They had just completed the Vernal Temple in the few months before I made this goal, so it was the newest temple in Utah at the time. Vernal was a several hour drive from Magna, UT, where I grew up. My mom and I made plans to go to Vernal one day in order to do the baptisms. We didn't call the temple ahead of time to schedule our visit, as at the time, none of the other temples in UT had required us to do that. (I think nowadays you have to schedule most visits, but I could be wrong.)
We drove three hours or so to Vernal. On the way, we stopped in Heber City. My mom wanted to show me the Heber Creeper, as I'd never seen it. (It's a train, if you haven't heard of it.) As we left Heber City, I remember asking my mom if we were on the correct road. She laughed, and said a line we have come to quote often in our family: "There's only one road out of Heber."
We realized we were on the wrong road when we saw a sign telling us how close we were to Provo- a city NOT on the way to Vernal. :)
Anyway, this turned out to be the best thing possible. The Vernal temple was MUCH smaller than the others we'd been to, and had a smaller staff. As a result, you had to make appointments for the baptistry or it wasn't staffed. However, because of our mishap coming out of Heber City, we hit the temple just in time for them to squeeze me into the end of a small youth group that was going through.
Had we not made the wrong turn at the beginning, I'd have missed my chance to do the baptisms.
Sometimes the Lord looks out for us, even before we know we need it.
They had just completed the Vernal Temple in the few months before I made this goal, so it was the newest temple in Utah at the time. Vernal was a several hour drive from Magna, UT, where I grew up. My mom and I made plans to go to Vernal one day in order to do the baptisms. We didn't call the temple ahead of time to schedule our visit, as at the time, none of the other temples in UT had required us to do that. (I think nowadays you have to schedule most visits, but I could be wrong.)
We drove three hours or so to Vernal. On the way, we stopped in Heber City. My mom wanted to show me the Heber Creeper, as I'd never seen it. (It's a train, if you haven't heard of it.) As we left Heber City, I remember asking my mom if we were on the correct road. She laughed, and said a line we have come to quote often in our family: "There's only one road out of Heber."
We realized we were on the wrong road when we saw a sign telling us how close we were to Provo- a city NOT on the way to Vernal. :)
Anyway, this turned out to be the best thing possible. The Vernal temple was MUCH smaller than the others we'd been to, and had a smaller staff. As a result, you had to make appointments for the baptistry or it wasn't staffed. However, because of our mishap coming out of Heber City, we hit the temple just in time for them to squeeze me into the end of a small youth group that was going through.
Had we not made the wrong turn at the beginning, I'd have missed my chance to do the baptisms.
Sometimes the Lord looks out for us, even before we know we need it.
Friday, November 8, 2013
My Prayer Worked!
Last night, Anna woke up with a short and high-pitched scream. I went down to check on her and she was just terrified because of the dream she'd just had. She told me all about the dream, and it did sound scary- even for an adult. This wasn't the first time during the night I'd had to go comfort her because of a dream, but this was an especially terrifying one.
I sat her on my lap and was rocking her back and forth a little bit, hugging her. She just clung to me and whimpered as she told me about the dream. Then she started asking to come sleep with mommy and daddy, which we have never allowed. I told her I'd stay with her for a while so she could calm down.
Before I went back upstairs to go to sleep, I asked her if she wanted to say a prayer before I left. She did, but she wanted me to say it. (She then told me exactly what to say and how to say it, so I don't know why she didn't just voice it herself. :D) We said a prayer. It was simple. She asked that the bad and scary dreams go away so she could have a good one that was fun.
After we finished the prayer, I held her for awhile longer. I felt the spirit giving me peace. I asked Anna if she also felt better. She said she did, and I explained that it was the Holy Ghost helping her feel better. She laid down without complaining, and slept through the rest of the night.
When she came upstairs this morning, she was just jumping. She ran in to where I was, saying, "MOMMY! MY PRAYER WORKED!" She then told me about the fun dream she'd had after she went back to sleep.
It was nice as a mother to see her happy. It made me happier knowing that she'd just built a little bit more into her testimony about prayer. It was also a good reminder for me. We don't always get what we pray for. But our prayers are always answered- just sometimes the answer isn't what we wanted, or it doesn't come when we wanted.
But sometimes it works out how we want it to.
I sat her on my lap and was rocking her back and forth a little bit, hugging her. She just clung to me and whimpered as she told me about the dream. Then she started asking to come sleep with mommy and daddy, which we have never allowed. I told her I'd stay with her for a while so she could calm down.
Before I went back upstairs to go to sleep, I asked her if she wanted to say a prayer before I left. She did, but she wanted me to say it. (She then told me exactly what to say and how to say it, so I don't know why she didn't just voice it herself. :D) We said a prayer. It was simple. She asked that the bad and scary dreams go away so she could have a good one that was fun.
After we finished the prayer, I held her for awhile longer. I felt the spirit giving me peace. I asked Anna if she also felt better. She said she did, and I explained that it was the Holy Ghost helping her feel better. She laid down without complaining, and slept through the rest of the night.
When she came upstairs this morning, she was just jumping. She ran in to where I was, saying, "MOMMY! MY PRAYER WORKED!" She then told me about the fun dream she'd had after she went back to sleep.
It was nice as a mother to see her happy. It made me happier knowing that she'd just built a little bit more into her testimony about prayer. It was also a good reminder for me. We don't always get what we pray for. But our prayers are always answered- just sometimes the answer isn't what we wanted, or it doesn't come when we wanted.
But sometimes it works out how we want it to.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
The Sunburn
I don't know why, but this afternoon I started thinking about an experience I had back in college. One of my roommates one summer had a family reunion at Bear Lake. The entire family (including great uncles, etc.) rented a cabin or something up at Bear Lake and had boats and other water activities. She went up for a day, and took the two of us roommates.
I remember that the day was beautiful. It was warm, but not hot, and the beach was very inviting. We walked down to the beach to meet up with her family and go out on the boat with some of her relatives. (Side note, this was where I first met an apostle. My roommate was Kristine Perry. She had a great uncle she didn't mention. As we walked down the beach, she said, "Hey, there's Uncle Tom." Uncle Tom turned out be L. Tom Perry, an apostle. This was a fun experience, as he was also in beach attire. He was a fun guy. :D)
We went out on a boat with some of Kristine's family. I don't remember my thinking. I wish I could... But in any case, I refused sun screen. For those of you who know me, I know you are shaking your heads. I burn VERY easily (or used to). As a kid, all I had to do was walk down the street for two minutes and I'd come back with blisters. (I don't think I'm exaggerating much, either.) So refusing sunscreen, while stupid for everyone, was completely idiotic for me. I think I was hoping to get some color, but I honestly don't remember the thinking (or lack thereof).
In any case, after an hour or two on the boat, Kristine's older male relative (I can't remember who he was) started commenting how he could already kinda see a sun burn showing up on me and that I'd better get some sunscreen on. I finally did, but I had already spent at least an hour or two on the boat in a swimsuit without it.
I was burned to a crisp. You know how red a ripe tomato is? Well, I was redder than that every single inch of me that wasn't covered by my suit. It was SO painful. It had already started showing up by the time we got in the car to go home. I had to call in sick to work the next day.
The next evening, my roommates went next door to grab one of our good guy friends to give me a blessing to help with the sunstroke I had inflicted on myself. The story we were telling everyone was that this burn was WITH sunscreen on. Which was technically true, though very deceiving, as I'd had a couple hours without it FIRST...
Keep in mind that the friend who gave me the blessing of comfort thought I had put sunscreen on at the beginning from the way we were telling people about the burn. But when he gave me the blessing, I knew that it didn't matter what HE knew. The blessing came from God. I don't remember the exact language of the blessing, but it said something about being made whole in spite of foolishness or that I was loved even when I was being foolish- something along those general lines. I remember it mentioned my foolishness.
Our Heavenly Father knows all, and it doesn't matter what we tell others. He still knows the truth. This experience reminded me we can't lie to Him. It also taught me that priesthood blessings do not come from the men who give them but from God.
This brings to my mind another experience with priesthood blessings. When Anna was about 10 months old or so the world experienced the big Swine Flu scare. People were dying of it and they had not yet figured out a vaccine for it. The medicine to fight it, Tamiflu, was in short supply due to the major outbreaks everywhere.
Scott came down with swine flu one weekend. We took him to instacare and got it diagnosed, but he wasn't given any medicine for it. (We never did like the instacare doctor....) I couldn't go to work because I was infected with it. Anna couldn't go to daycare because she was infected with it. We were shut into the house under quarantine (so it felt, even if it wasn't an official lock-down). Scott was SO miserable. The flu was horrible- he was so extremely sick.
We called some men from our ward to come give him a blessing. I don't remember most of the blessing, but I do remember that he was blessed that his caretakers would not get sick, but would be able to care for him. That was Sunday. On Monday, Anna came down with it. I took her to the doctor and got her medicine. As I took care of my sick family members, I remember clinging to the knowledge that I would NOT get sick. We had been promised that in Scott's blessing.
And you know what, I didn't. I think I was meant to, though. Around Tuesday, I developed a minor case of pink eye. Pink eye is caused by various infections that go to the eye rather than the rest of the body. I think I did get the virus, but in honor of the blessing, all it developed was pink eye rather than the swine flu. (And we even still had medicine for it. Anna had come home from daycare with it a month or so before and we had all caught it. We hadn't used all the eye drops. I needed only one or two doses of the eye drops and it cleared up completely.)
I came into contact with swine flu many times that flu season, due to my job of teaching. But I never did come down with it. This was a direct fulfillment of that priesthood blessing Scott was given (though just not getting it while my family was sick would have been a fulfillment).
These are two experiences that have always stuck in my brain as testimony builders on the power of the priesthood. Just because we get a priesthood blessing doesn't mean things will go away immediately. I know there are stories out there of people getting a blessing and immediately being healed. But I think most of us won't experience that. I think most of us will experience what I have talked about here. We will be promised or told things in blessings that will show us that the Lord really is aware of us. But most of us won't have miraculous healings.
But I bet if we all think really hard about it, we will all see the blessings we have had that have showed us the Lord is aware of US and knows us personally. And that is so much more valuable than getting up out of a sick bed and being completely better right away.
Just some thoughts.
I remember that the day was beautiful. It was warm, but not hot, and the beach was very inviting. We walked down to the beach to meet up with her family and go out on the boat with some of her relatives. (Side note, this was where I first met an apostle. My roommate was Kristine Perry. She had a great uncle she didn't mention. As we walked down the beach, she said, "Hey, there's Uncle Tom." Uncle Tom turned out be L. Tom Perry, an apostle. This was a fun experience, as he was also in beach attire. He was a fun guy. :D)
We went out on a boat with some of Kristine's family. I don't remember my thinking. I wish I could... But in any case, I refused sun screen. For those of you who know me, I know you are shaking your heads. I burn VERY easily (or used to). As a kid, all I had to do was walk down the street for two minutes and I'd come back with blisters. (I don't think I'm exaggerating much, either.) So refusing sunscreen, while stupid for everyone, was completely idiotic for me. I think I was hoping to get some color, but I honestly don't remember the thinking (or lack thereof).
In any case, after an hour or two on the boat, Kristine's older male relative (I can't remember who he was) started commenting how he could already kinda see a sun burn showing up on me and that I'd better get some sunscreen on. I finally did, but I had already spent at least an hour or two on the boat in a swimsuit without it.
I was burned to a crisp. You know how red a ripe tomato is? Well, I was redder than that every single inch of me that wasn't covered by my suit. It was SO painful. It had already started showing up by the time we got in the car to go home. I had to call in sick to work the next day.
The next evening, my roommates went next door to grab one of our good guy friends to give me a blessing to help with the sunstroke I had inflicted on myself. The story we were telling everyone was that this burn was WITH sunscreen on. Which was technically true, though very deceiving, as I'd had a couple hours without it FIRST...
Keep in mind that the friend who gave me the blessing of comfort thought I had put sunscreen on at the beginning from the way we were telling people about the burn. But when he gave me the blessing, I knew that it didn't matter what HE knew. The blessing came from God. I don't remember the exact language of the blessing, but it said something about being made whole in spite of foolishness or that I was loved even when I was being foolish- something along those general lines. I remember it mentioned my foolishness.
Our Heavenly Father knows all, and it doesn't matter what we tell others. He still knows the truth. This experience reminded me we can't lie to Him. It also taught me that priesthood blessings do not come from the men who give them but from God.
This brings to my mind another experience with priesthood blessings. When Anna was about 10 months old or so the world experienced the big Swine Flu scare. People were dying of it and they had not yet figured out a vaccine for it. The medicine to fight it, Tamiflu, was in short supply due to the major outbreaks everywhere.
Scott came down with swine flu one weekend. We took him to instacare and got it diagnosed, but he wasn't given any medicine for it. (We never did like the instacare doctor....) I couldn't go to work because I was infected with it. Anna couldn't go to daycare because she was infected with it. We were shut into the house under quarantine (so it felt, even if it wasn't an official lock-down). Scott was SO miserable. The flu was horrible- he was so extremely sick.
We called some men from our ward to come give him a blessing. I don't remember most of the blessing, but I do remember that he was blessed that his caretakers would not get sick, but would be able to care for him. That was Sunday. On Monday, Anna came down with it. I took her to the doctor and got her medicine. As I took care of my sick family members, I remember clinging to the knowledge that I would NOT get sick. We had been promised that in Scott's blessing.
And you know what, I didn't. I think I was meant to, though. Around Tuesday, I developed a minor case of pink eye. Pink eye is caused by various infections that go to the eye rather than the rest of the body. I think I did get the virus, but in honor of the blessing, all it developed was pink eye rather than the swine flu. (And we even still had medicine for it. Anna had come home from daycare with it a month or so before and we had all caught it. We hadn't used all the eye drops. I needed only one or two doses of the eye drops and it cleared up completely.)
I came into contact with swine flu many times that flu season, due to my job of teaching. But I never did come down with it. This was a direct fulfillment of that priesthood blessing Scott was given (though just not getting it while my family was sick would have been a fulfillment).
These are two experiences that have always stuck in my brain as testimony builders on the power of the priesthood. Just because we get a priesthood blessing doesn't mean things will go away immediately. I know there are stories out there of people getting a blessing and immediately being healed. But I think most of us won't experience that. I think most of us will experience what I have talked about here. We will be promised or told things in blessings that will show us that the Lord really is aware of us. But most of us won't have miraculous healings.
But I bet if we all think really hard about it, we will all see the blessings we have had that have showed us the Lord is aware of US and knows us personally. And that is so much more valuable than getting up out of a sick bed and being completely better right away.
Just some thoughts.
The Eyes of Children
Yesterday, Anna taught me a big lesson. We've been allowing her to do some things to earn dollars. She is saving up for a big toy. (Some days it's a Tinkerbell doll and other days it's a wagon. We'll see which she decides on in a month or so.) Once each week we fill out a tithing slip so she can pay tithing on the dollars she has earned during that week. As we did this last night, she really shocked me in her approach to the entire situation.
The first thing she taught me was the sheer excitement she had for paying tithing. As we get older and things become more routine, we often lose this excitement. But this really is a big thing. We should all get excited when we fill out tithing envelopes and hand them to the bishop. I think we would if we were handing them directly to the Savior. But what's the difference, really?
The second thing she taught me was a little more complex. She knew that we gave 10% back to Jesus. Last night she asked me WHY. She wasn't upset about doing it- as I said above, she was very excited- but she was curious about the why of tithing. I wasn't sure how to explain it. I was inspired to explain it this way: We give 10% back to Jesus to tell him thank you for the money and all our blessings. She loved that explanation. It helped me understand a little more of the why as well. As we sat down at the kitchen table so she could write her name and the amounts on the little slip, she told me that we should also say a thank you prayer for the money. So before filling out her tithing slip, my little girl folded her arms, bowed her head, and said a short, simple prayer thanking her Savior for the money she had earned.
The last thing she taught me was about giving. She needed to pay thirty cents for tithing, as she earned three dollars this week. (I think this was a record amount for her since we started this activity.) She had a dime and a quarter that she pulled out of her coin bank. I thought about looking for a nickel so she could pay an exact amount. Then I realized that this might be a good time to teach her what fast offerings is. I chose that route.
I explained that we give fast offerings money to the bishop so he can help families in our ward who may not have enough money for medical bills, food, or a house. Then I asked her if she wanted to give the dime and quarter to the bishop, and have five cents go to people who might need food, or if she wanted to find the nickel.
Her answer didn't really surprise me. I figured she'd say she wanted to give some fast offerings, and that was what she wanted. But what surprised me was her enthusiasm. Let's give the bishop lots of money so he can help people buy LOTS of food!
If only we were all as giving as little children. Jesus told his disciples to be like little children. If only it was easy to be childlike instead of childish. I think most of us have an easy time slipping into childish things. But how good are we at being childLIKE instead? It's the love, the giving, the easy-forgiving nature we are to copy. So willing to learn and take instructions, so trusting in our caregivers...
Just a thought.
The first thing she taught me was the sheer excitement she had for paying tithing. As we get older and things become more routine, we often lose this excitement. But this really is a big thing. We should all get excited when we fill out tithing envelopes and hand them to the bishop. I think we would if we were handing them directly to the Savior. But what's the difference, really?
The second thing she taught me was a little more complex. She knew that we gave 10% back to Jesus. Last night she asked me WHY. She wasn't upset about doing it- as I said above, she was very excited- but she was curious about the why of tithing. I wasn't sure how to explain it. I was inspired to explain it this way: We give 10% back to Jesus to tell him thank you for the money and all our blessings. She loved that explanation. It helped me understand a little more of the why as well. As we sat down at the kitchen table so she could write her name and the amounts on the little slip, she told me that we should also say a thank you prayer for the money. So before filling out her tithing slip, my little girl folded her arms, bowed her head, and said a short, simple prayer thanking her Savior for the money she had earned.
The last thing she taught me was about giving. She needed to pay thirty cents for tithing, as she earned three dollars this week. (I think this was a record amount for her since we started this activity.) She had a dime and a quarter that she pulled out of her coin bank. I thought about looking for a nickel so she could pay an exact amount. Then I realized that this might be a good time to teach her what fast offerings is. I chose that route.
I explained that we give fast offerings money to the bishop so he can help families in our ward who may not have enough money for medical bills, food, or a house. Then I asked her if she wanted to give the dime and quarter to the bishop, and have five cents go to people who might need food, or if she wanted to find the nickel.
Her answer didn't really surprise me. I figured she'd say she wanted to give some fast offerings, and that was what she wanted. But what surprised me was her enthusiasm. Let's give the bishop lots of money so he can help people buy LOTS of food!
If only we were all as giving as little children. Jesus told his disciples to be like little children. If only it was easy to be childlike instead of childish. I think most of us have an easy time slipping into childish things. But how good are we at being childLIKE instead? It's the love, the giving, the easy-forgiving nature we are to copy. So willing to learn and take instructions, so trusting in our caregivers...
Just a thought.
MOMMY!!
I had a couple thoughts recently thanks to Katie. Katie turned two about a month ago, and as a result of her recent bound of development, she is a bundle of personality and excitement. A few days ago, we went to the park. Another little family was there as well. They had a little one who looked to be about three or three and a half. This little child was heads taller than Katie, had an arm span at least twice Katie's, and was a lot more muscular.
Every time Katie saw this little child, she would get excited and yell, "BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!" It cracked me up since of the two, she was MUCH more of a baby than this other little kid. But she was SO excited about the 'baby' there at the park with her.
I kept giggling to myself at Katie calling this other little kid a baby and it made me wonder if we do that spiritually. I wonder if we go about supporting new converts and thinking they are babies in the gospel, when in reality their spiritual maturity is far greater than ours. I wondered if the Lord ever giggled at us like I was giggling at Katie.
This reminded me of a story I heard recently. I don't remember who the story came from- only that it was a General Authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I think the story was pretty old, but the message is the same. This gentleman was assigned to be a home teacher for a couple in the ward that were newer converts. He was excited to be able to help take care of them and make sure they didn't struggle with things since they were so much newer to the gospel. As he and his companion visited them, he kept seeing things they were doing, realizing how important it was to do those things that we've been asked to do, and then feeling a bit ashamed that he and his family were NOT doing them. He had thought he was going to strengthen them, but they strengthened him instead.
Rather than seeing each other in terms of stages or strengths, let's just see each other as children of God. No matter where we are in any stage of life, development, testimony, strength, courage, etc., we are all still children to our Heavenly Father.
Katie gave me another little experience today in church. Scott was home sick, so I had the girls by myself all through church. In Sunday School, the nursery leader brought Katie to me because she needed a new diaper. The room we were in for Sunday School had a big empty area behind where we were sitting. The nursery leader had come through that back door, so Katie saw me through the empty area of the room. She ran in, running towards me as fast as she could in her dress, and yelled, "MOMMY!!!!" I knelt down and opened my arms to her and she threw herself at me in a hug.
This was sweet to me for several reasons. The first is that I have two DADDY'S GIRLS, so that is the reception that is more commonly given to Daddy. (They see Mommy all day, so what's the big deal when she enters a room? :D) The second reason is that I am currently attending the Parenting Sunday School class. (I don't know the official name for it.) We'd just been talking about raising children in love when Katie did this. That made the moment more poignant for me because I was thinking about how much I loved my girls.
The last reason was one that came to me as I walked Katie home to change her diaper. (We don't bring a diaper bag to church. We should, but this is the first time I can remember needing to change a diaper during church hours for a child over three months old.... So I had to take her home to clean her up.) I wondered if that is how sweet the reunion will be with our Heavenly Father and Savior when we see them again. Will we run to their open arms just as Katie did mine?
I think so.
Every time Katie saw this little child, she would get excited and yell, "BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!" It cracked me up since of the two, she was MUCH more of a baby than this other little kid. But she was SO excited about the 'baby' there at the park with her.
I kept giggling to myself at Katie calling this other little kid a baby and it made me wonder if we do that spiritually. I wonder if we go about supporting new converts and thinking they are babies in the gospel, when in reality their spiritual maturity is far greater than ours. I wondered if the Lord ever giggled at us like I was giggling at Katie.
This reminded me of a story I heard recently. I don't remember who the story came from- only that it was a General Authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I think the story was pretty old, but the message is the same. This gentleman was assigned to be a home teacher for a couple in the ward that were newer converts. He was excited to be able to help take care of them and make sure they didn't struggle with things since they were so much newer to the gospel. As he and his companion visited them, he kept seeing things they were doing, realizing how important it was to do those things that we've been asked to do, and then feeling a bit ashamed that he and his family were NOT doing them. He had thought he was going to strengthen them, but they strengthened him instead.
Rather than seeing each other in terms of stages or strengths, let's just see each other as children of God. No matter where we are in any stage of life, development, testimony, strength, courage, etc., we are all still children to our Heavenly Father.
Katie gave me another little experience today in church. Scott was home sick, so I had the girls by myself all through church. In Sunday School, the nursery leader brought Katie to me because she needed a new diaper. The room we were in for Sunday School had a big empty area behind where we were sitting. The nursery leader had come through that back door, so Katie saw me through the empty area of the room. She ran in, running towards me as fast as she could in her dress, and yelled, "MOMMY!!!!" I knelt down and opened my arms to her and she threw herself at me in a hug.
This was sweet to me for several reasons. The first is that I have two DADDY'S GIRLS, so that is the reception that is more commonly given to Daddy. (They see Mommy all day, so what's the big deal when she enters a room? :D) The second reason is that I am currently attending the Parenting Sunday School class. (I don't know the official name for it.) We'd just been talking about raising children in love when Katie did this. That made the moment more poignant for me because I was thinking about how much I loved my girls.
The last reason was one that came to me as I walked Katie home to change her diaper. (We don't bring a diaper bag to church. We should, but this is the first time I can remember needing to change a diaper during church hours for a child over three months old.... So I had to take her home to clean her up.) I wondered if that is how sweet the reunion will be with our Heavenly Father and Savior when we see them again. Will we run to their open arms just as Katie did mine?
I think so.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Weeding the Yard
So today I weeded the area in our front yard by the mail box. (For those of you who know me, I can't answer your question. I don't know who I am or what I did with Kelli....) I usually ignore that area of the yard when I do my infrequent weedings. As a result, it was pretty bad. Some of the weeds have been there the whole time we've been in this house.
Anyway, I learned a few things this morning. 1) When your four-year-old tells you that you really should put on shoes and gloves before doing that, you should listen. 2) Just because weeds look dead doesn't mean they want to come out of the ground. 3) Vines are evil and interconnect everything, making it hard to pull anything up. 4) Just because some weeds are easier to pull, doesn't mean they are the ones that need to come out most.
1) I don't normally wear shoes. I have nothing against them, I just prefer to be sock-footed. Normally when I do yard work in the front yard, I remain sock-footed. But I also haven't ever weeded that area by the mailbox. I discovered something about that area. It is the motherland of thorns. You know the prickly ones that look like misshapen thumbtacks and stick to you from four areas at once? I reached in to what looked like just some normal weeds to discover that thorn patch hiding underneath. I said, "OW!" and pulled a thorn from my hand.
Anna told me that maybe I should go get my mittens. I responded that I didn't know where the gloves were. This is true, however the main reason I didn't go look is that I just don't like gloves. If I'm afraid of getting bit by a spider, I'll wear them. Otherwise, I suck it up without. Instead of getting gloves, I just moved to a different area. I had already gotten the visible weeds in that area with the first pull anyway.
My kids went in and got their shoes on. Anna told me I needed mine on, too. I told her I was just going to walk around the edges where it wouldn't hurt my feet. And that worked for a while, too. You know, until I forgot about the above-mentioned thorn patch and walked through it sock-footed. OUCH! At that point, I had Anna go get my shoes for me.
2) The first bunch of weeds I pulled was dead, making them extremely easy to pull. This gave me false confidence, as I expected all the weeds to come up easily. I soon found that just because the tops were dead, didn't mean that the roots were...
3) I have no clue what the vine was, but it was under the bush and tied EVERYTHING together. That area took me forever, even though there weren't that many weeds needing to come out.
4) Right next to the mail box was a big dead sage brush looking thing. It was HUGE- could have been a small bush. It was also thorny. The stalk going into the ground was really thick, and my first attempt to yank it out was fruitless. So I decided to do all the other weeds and just leave that one. As I kept going, I kept chastising myself for that decision. After all, if I pulled that one huge weed and nothing else it would make the yard look nicer than if I pulled everything BUT the one weed. Finally, I got up the courage to get the big weed. I reached in, yanked as hard as I could, got it up, and even got it in the garbage can in time to let the truck take it. I also came out covered in thorns and prickles all up my arm. That was fun picking them out. But I was right. It made the yard look worlds nicer.
As I weeded, I kept thinking how my weeding was like repentance and the weeds were like sin and temptation. We may resist putting on gloves or shoes, but in the end, we get stuck with thorns, no matter how we try to avoid anything painful. We can't go through life without putting on the armor of God and expect not to get stuck with painful sin/temptation. How do we put on the armor? Very simple. We pray. We read our scriptures. We attend our church meetings. We do all other things we've been asked to do and keep the spirit in our lives. Yes, they are extra steps. But are they really any harder than putting on our shoes?
We may think that sins are going to be easy to repent of because they are old. But we will find that all sin has root somewhere. The root is usually very hard to pull without help. We need to remember the Atonement. If we only pull the tops that look dead- or only the easily removed sin, we leave the roots and the sin will appear again. It is only if we get the root that the weed doesn't come back.
We may think sins are isolated, but usually they are not. Pride leads to unkindness. Anger leads to harsh words. Etc. We have to rid ourselves of sin one sin at a time, but we need to expect the interconnected nature. Look deep- if you find the main vine and pull IT, other things will come with it.
It is often easiest to work on ridding ourselves of small sins that will come easily and be easy not to repeat. But they are often not the things that are keeping us most from the Lord. Sometimes we need to pull the big, painful things from our lives first. The process is painful and hurts in many places, but the end result is a much more beautiful soul than if we tried to leave it. Sometimes these big weeds need shovels- maybe we need to seek help from our bishop or elsewhere to get rid of it. But in the end, the larger the weed we pull, the better our souls look.
These were just my thoughts. :)
Anyway, I learned a few things this morning. 1) When your four-year-old tells you that you really should put on shoes and gloves before doing that, you should listen. 2) Just because weeds look dead doesn't mean they want to come out of the ground. 3) Vines are evil and interconnect everything, making it hard to pull anything up. 4) Just because some weeds are easier to pull, doesn't mean they are the ones that need to come out most.
1) I don't normally wear shoes. I have nothing against them, I just prefer to be sock-footed. Normally when I do yard work in the front yard, I remain sock-footed. But I also haven't ever weeded that area by the mailbox. I discovered something about that area. It is the motherland of thorns. You know the prickly ones that look like misshapen thumbtacks and stick to you from four areas at once? I reached in to what looked like just some normal weeds to discover that thorn patch hiding underneath. I said, "OW!" and pulled a thorn from my hand.
Anna told me that maybe I should go get my mittens. I responded that I didn't know where the gloves were. This is true, however the main reason I didn't go look is that I just don't like gloves. If I'm afraid of getting bit by a spider, I'll wear them. Otherwise, I suck it up without. Instead of getting gloves, I just moved to a different area. I had already gotten the visible weeds in that area with the first pull anyway.
My kids went in and got their shoes on. Anna told me I needed mine on, too. I told her I was just going to walk around the edges where it wouldn't hurt my feet. And that worked for a while, too. You know, until I forgot about the above-mentioned thorn patch and walked through it sock-footed. OUCH! At that point, I had Anna go get my shoes for me.
2) The first bunch of weeds I pulled was dead, making them extremely easy to pull. This gave me false confidence, as I expected all the weeds to come up easily. I soon found that just because the tops were dead, didn't mean that the roots were...
3) I have no clue what the vine was, but it was under the bush and tied EVERYTHING together. That area took me forever, even though there weren't that many weeds needing to come out.
4) Right next to the mail box was a big dead sage brush looking thing. It was HUGE- could have been a small bush. It was also thorny. The stalk going into the ground was really thick, and my first attempt to yank it out was fruitless. So I decided to do all the other weeds and just leave that one. As I kept going, I kept chastising myself for that decision. After all, if I pulled that one huge weed and nothing else it would make the yard look nicer than if I pulled everything BUT the one weed. Finally, I got up the courage to get the big weed. I reached in, yanked as hard as I could, got it up, and even got it in the garbage can in time to let the truck take it. I also came out covered in thorns and prickles all up my arm. That was fun picking them out. But I was right. It made the yard look worlds nicer.
As I weeded, I kept thinking how my weeding was like repentance and the weeds were like sin and temptation. We may resist putting on gloves or shoes, but in the end, we get stuck with thorns, no matter how we try to avoid anything painful. We can't go through life without putting on the armor of God and expect not to get stuck with painful sin/temptation. How do we put on the armor? Very simple. We pray. We read our scriptures. We attend our church meetings. We do all other things we've been asked to do and keep the spirit in our lives. Yes, they are extra steps. But are they really any harder than putting on our shoes?
We may think that sins are going to be easy to repent of because they are old. But we will find that all sin has root somewhere. The root is usually very hard to pull without help. We need to remember the Atonement. If we only pull the tops that look dead- or only the easily removed sin, we leave the roots and the sin will appear again. It is only if we get the root that the weed doesn't come back.
We may think sins are isolated, but usually they are not. Pride leads to unkindness. Anger leads to harsh words. Etc. We have to rid ourselves of sin one sin at a time, but we need to expect the interconnected nature. Look deep- if you find the main vine and pull IT, other things will come with it.
It is often easiest to work on ridding ourselves of small sins that will come easily and be easy not to repeat. But they are often not the things that are keeping us most from the Lord. Sometimes we need to pull the big, painful things from our lives first. The process is painful and hurts in many places, but the end result is a much more beautiful soul than if we tried to leave it. Sometimes these big weeds need shovels- maybe we need to seek help from our bishop or elsewhere to get rid of it. But in the end, the larger the weed we pull, the better our souls look.
These were just my thoughts. :)
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Jesus Is Sad with You
A week or so ago, my toddler was really sad. Katie was hungry and tired, but we had to wait for both lunch and nap until after the kids had their dentist appointment. Katie was so brokenhearted when I started getting her ready to go instead of giving her what she wanted. She was crying so hard- big sobs of complete broken heart.
Anna, four years old, came up and patted her on the back. "Jesus is sad with you, Katie," she said. Then she repeated it as she stepped away. "Jesus is sad with you, Katie." I don't know how much a 20 month old truly understands, but Katie calmed down. (She didn't cheer up, but she calmed down.)
I have thought a lot about Anna's words since this happened. Her knowledge of her Heavenly Father and her Savior may be basic, but she has an understanding of what the Atonement means. She may not know everything about it, and she may have to relearn this many times, but right now she knows what it means that Christ suffered in Gethsemane for her.
I think we'd all feel a lot more comfort and peace if we remembered the Atonement in this way. Rather than trying to focus on all the ins and outs of all the doctrine surrounding it, we should simply try to remember that whatever we are feeling, Jesus feels with us. Maybe we can feel some comfort knowing that there truly is someone out there who knows EXACTLY how we feel and has been there. Maybe it will help even more knowing He went through it all out of love for us.
Just a thought.
Anna, four years old, came up and patted her on the back. "Jesus is sad with you, Katie," she said. Then she repeated it as she stepped away. "Jesus is sad with you, Katie." I don't know how much a 20 month old truly understands, but Katie calmed down. (She didn't cheer up, but she calmed down.)
I have thought a lot about Anna's words since this happened. Her knowledge of her Heavenly Father and her Savior may be basic, but she has an understanding of what the Atonement means. She may not know everything about it, and she may have to relearn this many times, but right now she knows what it means that Christ suffered in Gethsemane for her.
I think we'd all feel a lot more comfort and peace if we remembered the Atonement in this way. Rather than trying to focus on all the ins and outs of all the doctrine surrounding it, we should simply try to remember that whatever we are feeling, Jesus feels with us. Maybe we can feel some comfort knowing that there truly is someone out there who knows EXACTLY how we feel and has been there. Maybe it will help even more knowing He went through it all out of love for us.
Just a thought.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Let Them Ring
Yesterday I had the unique experience to sit in the temple for a devotional. I sometimes play the organ at the temple, and they had a devotional for all the volunteers. As we sat in the chapel, the temple presidency and matrons began telling us many very interesting stories about the St. George Temple. Some were about things that had happened in the temple, which I won't go into. They were cool stories meant to drive home the importance of treating people with kindness.
One story that President Hafen told us really struck home, though. This story was about the construction of the temple back in the beginnings of St. George, UT. The site for the temple had been chosen. Construction was ready. Then they discovered that right where they wanted to build the temple was some kind of underground stream or spring that made the ground boggy. This is highly unusual in St. George, as we are very much a DESERT... The saints let Brigham Young, the prophet at the time, know about the problem. They expected him to have them move the site over a little to avoid the boggy area and speed up construction.
They were surprised at his response. He told them to continue as planned. To fix the problem with the boggy ground, they were to go up into the mountains and bring down the huge lava rocks and use those to fill in the holes of the watery area. This process took the saints of the time eighteen months to complete. The lava rocks were so huge that they couldn't be lifted onto wagons. They had to be harnessed directly to the mules and dragged down to the site, where they were dumped into the area to fill in the holes. When the site was filled with larger rocks, they filled it up the rest of the way with smaller rocks to make sure it was steady for the foundation of the temple. After filling it with rocks, they compacted it down with a cannon they had. (They were told that when the cannon bounced three times, it was ready to build on.)
This made for a strong foundation. Unbeknownst to the saints at the time, it also protected the temple. In St. George, there is something called alkaline in the soil. Alkaline erodes sandstone over time. The temple is built of sandstone. Because the temple sits on lava rock and not soil, it could not be eroded by the alkaline that would have weakened the structure over time had they moved the site. President Hafen then commented that sometimes our trials are blessings.
He then quoted something Brigham Young said about the building of temples. I wish I could remember it to quote it exactly, but here it is to the best of my ability to remember: "Whenever we begin building a temple, the bells of Hell begin ringing. LET THEM RING! It is a beautiful sound!" Then President Hafen added that when the bells of Hell begin ringing, it means we are doing something right. :)
I think that applies to more than just temple building. I think Satan tries hard to discourage us from doing anything that is good. :) Just a thought.
One story that President Hafen told us really struck home, though. This story was about the construction of the temple back in the beginnings of St. George, UT. The site for the temple had been chosen. Construction was ready. Then they discovered that right where they wanted to build the temple was some kind of underground stream or spring that made the ground boggy. This is highly unusual in St. George, as we are very much a DESERT... The saints let Brigham Young, the prophet at the time, know about the problem. They expected him to have them move the site over a little to avoid the boggy area and speed up construction.
They were surprised at his response. He told them to continue as planned. To fix the problem with the boggy ground, they were to go up into the mountains and bring down the huge lava rocks and use those to fill in the holes of the watery area. This process took the saints of the time eighteen months to complete. The lava rocks were so huge that they couldn't be lifted onto wagons. They had to be harnessed directly to the mules and dragged down to the site, where they were dumped into the area to fill in the holes. When the site was filled with larger rocks, they filled it up the rest of the way with smaller rocks to make sure it was steady for the foundation of the temple. After filling it with rocks, they compacted it down with a cannon they had. (They were told that when the cannon bounced three times, it was ready to build on.)
This made for a strong foundation. Unbeknownst to the saints at the time, it also protected the temple. In St. George, there is something called alkaline in the soil. Alkaline erodes sandstone over time. The temple is built of sandstone. Because the temple sits on lava rock and not soil, it could not be eroded by the alkaline that would have weakened the structure over time had they moved the site. President Hafen then commented that sometimes our trials are blessings.
He then quoted something Brigham Young said about the building of temples. I wish I could remember it to quote it exactly, but here it is to the best of my ability to remember: "Whenever we begin building a temple, the bells of Hell begin ringing. LET THEM RING! It is a beautiful sound!" Then President Hafen added that when the bells of Hell begin ringing, it means we are doing something right. :)
I think that applies to more than just temple building. I think Satan tries hard to discourage us from doing anything that is good. :) Just a thought.
Monday, March 25, 2013
Closing the Door
My toddler, Katie, has started a fun new phase. She goes into a room, slams the door, and then cries because she is trapped in the room. (She isn't tall enough to turn the doorknob yet.) We have been through this phase already with her, so I thought we were done with it. But it flared up again. It's cute, in a way, because when you go in to save her from her own doings, she will be standing by the door looking shocked- despite the fact that she knows very well she closed the door herself.
We didn't do this twice with Anna. Anna was always very tall. She locked herself in rooms for about three weeks before figuring out the doorknobs. Katie is shorter than Anna was, and so she knows the doorknob is the key to getting out, but isn't tall enough to turn the knob. It must be maddening for her because she can TOUCH it, but not turn it. I've seen her try- I think she knows what she needs to do, but just isn't physically able to do it yet.
I was watching her do this little game this morning. She locked herself in the guest room three or four times in fifteen minutes. The last time she did, she just looked exasperated. Finally, she wised up and went outside with Anna. It made me laugh. It also made me think of my life. How many times have I slammed a figurative door in my own face, then stood looking at the door as if it had slammed on me on its own?
I think we do this to ourselves a lot. How often do we make a habit of coming in late to work and then get upset when we aren't the ones promoted? How often do we gossip about people and then get upset when people don't want to be friends with us? (I know that no one reading this has ever done anything of this sort... Of course I give examples that are only relevant to the rest of the world... :D)
I think we do this spiritually as well. How often do we listen to music or jokes or watch movies/tv shows that are inappropriate, and then wonder why we don't get many spiritual promptings? How often do we daydream (or play iPad/iPod/smartphone games) in church and then wonder why everyone else was uplifted but we weren't? How often do we NOT attend the temple, and then wonder why we don't feel the inspiration everyone talks about receiving in the Celestial Room?
Just a thought.
We didn't do this twice with Anna. Anna was always very tall. She locked herself in rooms for about three weeks before figuring out the doorknobs. Katie is shorter than Anna was, and so she knows the doorknob is the key to getting out, but isn't tall enough to turn the knob. It must be maddening for her because she can TOUCH it, but not turn it. I've seen her try- I think she knows what she needs to do, but just isn't physically able to do it yet.
I was watching her do this little game this morning. She locked herself in the guest room three or four times in fifteen minutes. The last time she did, she just looked exasperated. Finally, she wised up and went outside with Anna. It made me laugh. It also made me think of my life. How many times have I slammed a figurative door in my own face, then stood looking at the door as if it had slammed on me on its own?
I think we do this to ourselves a lot. How often do we make a habit of coming in late to work and then get upset when we aren't the ones promoted? How often do we gossip about people and then get upset when people don't want to be friends with us? (I know that no one reading this has ever done anything of this sort... Of course I give examples that are only relevant to the rest of the world... :D)
I think we do this spiritually as well. How often do we listen to music or jokes or watch movies/tv shows that are inappropriate, and then wonder why we don't get many spiritual promptings? How often do we daydream (or play iPad/iPod/smartphone games) in church and then wonder why everyone else was uplifted but we weren't? How often do we NOT attend the temple, and then wonder why we don't feel the inspiration everyone talks about receiving in the Celestial Room?
Just a thought.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
My Pretty Ballerina
I was just reminded of something that happened to me as a kid. I just changed Katie's clothes into a cute little ballerina outfit, and it reminded me of a doll I wanted very badly as a kid. I don't remember how old I'd have been, but probably between eight and ten. The doll was called My Pretty Ballerina. I can even sing the jingle for the commercial still.
The doll was fancy. It was back when 'automated' dolls were new, so the fact that it could dance on its own with only minor work from the child was REALLY cool. The commercial made it look like so much fun. I remember the doll was being advertised very heavily all through November to get everyone excited to buy it for Christmas. My birthday is in November, so this piqued my interest very intensely. I wanted this doll SO badly for my birthday.
There was one problem with me wanting this doll for my birthday. I never told my parents I wanted it. I wasn't one to play with dolls. In fact, the few dolls I did own went completely unused unless a friend came over who liked dolls. I just wasn't a doll person. I have no idea how I thought my parents would figure out that I wanted this fancy (and probably very expensive) doll. I'm not even sure I would have played with it, if I look at myself at that age closely. But I wanted it so badly anyway.
My birthday rolled around. I was so excited, hoping so badly I would unwrap a box with that doll. If I remember correctly, I was actually expecting to get it, despite never having mentioned it once. Of course I didn't get the doll. I remember being so disappointed about what I did get (I still remember that it was lots of school supplies- stuff I'd have thought was way cool if I hadn't wanted the doll). I had to pretend to be happy about it all. Of course, I got over it all quickly. But I still hated that commercial when it came on because I hadn't gotten the doll for my birthday.
I have thought back on this experience several times since being married. Every time I do, the first thing I smile about is the fact I truly expected to get the doll even though I never said a word about it... I think we do that a lot of times. We just assume people will know what we want and are disappointed when they don't. The concept that people are not mind-readers often escapes us. But we do this with the Lord as well. We know He knows what we need, and we just expect Him to give it to us. We forget we have to ask for certain things before He will bless us with it. A testimony is one example of this. We can hope for a testimony all we want, but if we never pray to find out if a certain thing is true, we will never be blessed with a confirmation that it is.
Just a thought.
The doll was fancy. It was back when 'automated' dolls were new, so the fact that it could dance on its own with only minor work from the child was REALLY cool. The commercial made it look like so much fun. I remember the doll was being advertised very heavily all through November to get everyone excited to buy it for Christmas. My birthday is in November, so this piqued my interest very intensely. I wanted this doll SO badly for my birthday.
There was one problem with me wanting this doll for my birthday. I never told my parents I wanted it. I wasn't one to play with dolls. In fact, the few dolls I did own went completely unused unless a friend came over who liked dolls. I just wasn't a doll person. I have no idea how I thought my parents would figure out that I wanted this fancy (and probably very expensive) doll. I'm not even sure I would have played with it, if I look at myself at that age closely. But I wanted it so badly anyway.
My birthday rolled around. I was so excited, hoping so badly I would unwrap a box with that doll. If I remember correctly, I was actually expecting to get it, despite never having mentioned it once. Of course I didn't get the doll. I remember being so disappointed about what I did get (I still remember that it was lots of school supplies- stuff I'd have thought was way cool if I hadn't wanted the doll). I had to pretend to be happy about it all. Of course, I got over it all quickly. But I still hated that commercial when it came on because I hadn't gotten the doll for my birthday.
I have thought back on this experience several times since being married. Every time I do, the first thing I smile about is the fact I truly expected to get the doll even though I never said a word about it... I think we do that a lot of times. We just assume people will know what we want and are disappointed when they don't. The concept that people are not mind-readers often escapes us. But we do this with the Lord as well. We know He knows what we need, and we just expect Him to give it to us. We forget we have to ask for certain things before He will bless us with it. A testimony is one example of this. We can hope for a testimony all we want, but if we never pray to find out if a certain thing is true, we will never be blessed with a confirmation that it is.
Just a thought.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Van and Van's Twin
In January, I did what I think is to date the stupidest thing I have ever done. I hope that when I die, I am able to say still that the stupidest thing I have ever done was on Jan. 24, 2013... I turned left in front of someone and caused a car accident. It was a big car accident, but not necessarily serious. No ambulances were involved, but both cars were totaled.
There were so many blessings involved with this accident that it is impossible to outline all of them in a blog post. But I want to try to share a few blessings. Blessing number one was that it happened in our brand new van. (We'd made one payment on it, and I was clever enough to total it on the one-month anniversary of us buying it...) Scott had purchased the van on Christmas Eve. It'd been a huge joke at our house- I'd sent him to the store to check a price on something and instead he came home with a new van (and didn't check the price...). That story is deceiving because while he did the initial stuff, we made the decision to purchase it together and he brought it home for me to test drive before signing anything... But in any case, it was an unexpected purchase. He woke up that morning feeling very drawn to buying the van. I'm sure there were many reasons for that, but I now think that one HUGE reason for the purchase was this accident. If we'd still been in the tiny little Fit, I think we'd have been injured in this accident. I don't think anyone would have been killed or even permanently maimed, but I think we'd have been hurt- especially Katie. It hit on her side of the car. While in the van it was nowhere near where she was sitting, in the Fit the point of impact would have been very close to her.
Blessing number two was the actual totaling of the van. We were able to pay off the original van and get its twin brother- same make, model, color, etc. We were also able to use some extra money from the van to pay off (with the help of tax return) two small bills that reduced our monthly expenses. (See my previous blog post titled 'Perspective' for more info....)
Blessing number three was Moriah Spainhower. She happened to be driving by the area where I crashed the van shortly after the accident. She was with a friend who was driving and recognized me. So they turned around to see if I needed any help. I sent the girls home with Moriah so they didn't have to wait for everything to be finalized and signed. Moriah saved us a ton of stress as well as calmed Anna down. Katie was too little to know what had happened. Anna wasn't, and she was really scared. But not only was Moriah fun and cool, she had bunnies... By the time Scott and I were finally able to pick the girls up from Moriah's house, Anna was very happy. In fact, she didn't want to come home with us- she wanted to stay with Moriah. :)
Blessing number four is forgiveness. I got distracted and did something stupid. But I did all I could to make up for the mistake and was able to repent. I can't imagine having something like that mar my spiritual being forever. It was a mistake- I hadn't done it on purpose. But it was still carelessness that endangered people and affected more than just my family. (Fortunately, it appears so far that the lady in the other car is nice- we haven't heard any bad things from our insurance company about her or her husband....)
As I've said in other posts, look for the blessings in the trials. They are ALWAYS there. It would have been so easy to look at the negative things with this accident. There were a LOT of them. But what good would that do? Instead, we have come to view this accident as a blessing. First and foremost, of course, being that no one was seriously hurt. Because it could have been a lot worse. If we look for the bad, we are sure to find it. If we look for the good, we will see things that will amaze us and fill us with gratitude to our Heavenly Father. So why not look for the good? Just a thought.
There were so many blessings involved with this accident that it is impossible to outline all of them in a blog post. But I want to try to share a few blessings. Blessing number one was that it happened in our brand new van. (We'd made one payment on it, and I was clever enough to total it on the one-month anniversary of us buying it...) Scott had purchased the van on Christmas Eve. It'd been a huge joke at our house- I'd sent him to the store to check a price on something and instead he came home with a new van (and didn't check the price...). That story is deceiving because while he did the initial stuff, we made the decision to purchase it together and he brought it home for me to test drive before signing anything... But in any case, it was an unexpected purchase. He woke up that morning feeling very drawn to buying the van. I'm sure there were many reasons for that, but I now think that one HUGE reason for the purchase was this accident. If we'd still been in the tiny little Fit, I think we'd have been injured in this accident. I don't think anyone would have been killed or even permanently maimed, but I think we'd have been hurt- especially Katie. It hit on her side of the car. While in the van it was nowhere near where she was sitting, in the Fit the point of impact would have been very close to her.
Blessing number two was the actual totaling of the van. We were able to pay off the original van and get its twin brother- same make, model, color, etc. We were also able to use some extra money from the van to pay off (with the help of tax return) two small bills that reduced our monthly expenses. (See my previous blog post titled 'Perspective' for more info....)
Blessing number three was Moriah Spainhower. She happened to be driving by the area where I crashed the van shortly after the accident. She was with a friend who was driving and recognized me. So they turned around to see if I needed any help. I sent the girls home with Moriah so they didn't have to wait for everything to be finalized and signed. Moriah saved us a ton of stress as well as calmed Anna down. Katie was too little to know what had happened. Anna wasn't, and she was really scared. But not only was Moriah fun and cool, she had bunnies... By the time Scott and I were finally able to pick the girls up from Moriah's house, Anna was very happy. In fact, she didn't want to come home with us- she wanted to stay with Moriah. :)
Blessing number four is forgiveness. I got distracted and did something stupid. But I did all I could to make up for the mistake and was able to repent. I can't imagine having something like that mar my spiritual being forever. It was a mistake- I hadn't done it on purpose. But it was still carelessness that endangered people and affected more than just my family. (Fortunately, it appears so far that the lady in the other car is nice- we haven't heard any bad things from our insurance company about her or her husband....)
As I've said in other posts, look for the blessings in the trials. They are ALWAYS there. It would have been so easy to look at the negative things with this accident. There were a LOT of them. But what good would that do? Instead, we have come to view this accident as a blessing. First and foremost, of course, being that no one was seriously hurt. Because it could have been a lot worse. If we look for the bad, we are sure to find it. If we look for the good, we will see things that will amaze us and fill us with gratitude to our Heavenly Father. So why not look for the good? Just a thought.
Perspective
This week I had something happen to me at work that was a huge shock. I was suddenly cut back on my hours, which resulted in a pay cut as well. I was not expecting it, so when I got the e-mail, it was a big slap in the face. Part of this was the pure unexpected blow. Part of it (well, most of it) was pride. I'd thought I was doing a good job- why did my hours get cut? It turned out that it was no reflection on my performance, but simply because our enrollment had gone down. I could understand that, but I still shocked and hurt about my hours.
I don't know WHY it hurt my feelings at first. When I think back on it, I see how stupid it was for me to take something like that personally. But I did. For about twenty-four hours I stewed over and sulked about it. Scott tried to comfort me because the pay cut really wasn't that bad because we'd used our tax return to pay off a couple small bills in addition to laying sod in our back yard. That meant we could afford a little bit of a pay cut. But it wasn't so much the pay cut as it was just being reduced that upset me.
Then, the day after this happened, my sister said something in an e-mail that changed my whole perspective. She commented that the slightly fewer hours meant I could play with the girls more. Just that one comment suddenly dissipated the dark cloud I'd had about it. I started looking forward to the few more hours per week that I'd have as free time. I no longer resented the change. I wouldn't have chosen it if they'd asked me, but I didn't resent it anymore.
What I learned from this experience is two-fold. 1) There is ALWAYS a silver lining. That silver lining may not be immediate, but it will present itself eventually if we look for it. 2) When we do what the spirit prompts us to do, we are prepared for things. We were able to pay off two small bills with our tax return and the money we got from our van being totaled (that's a different story altogether...). That meant that while we will still notice the smaller paycheck, it won't matter with any essentials. What a huge blessing that we were given a way to cut our monthly budget just in time for such a change. We didn't know it was going to happen, but Heavenly Father did and he prepared us for it. I have several theories about why we were prepared in such a manner, and obviously I have no clue if any are the correct reason. It could be a result of the fact that we pay tithing. It could be a blessing from us paying into the ward mission fund. It could just simply be because the Lord loves us. In any case, we were prepared.
Remember to look for the blessings with the trials. Maybe the car broke down right before or after payday so you could afford to fix it. Maybe someone you love got really sick, but as a result you gained a better understanding of the Atonement. Just a thought.
I don't know WHY it hurt my feelings at first. When I think back on it, I see how stupid it was for me to take something like that personally. But I did. For about twenty-four hours I stewed over and sulked about it. Scott tried to comfort me because the pay cut really wasn't that bad because we'd used our tax return to pay off a couple small bills in addition to laying sod in our back yard. That meant we could afford a little bit of a pay cut. But it wasn't so much the pay cut as it was just being reduced that upset me.
Then, the day after this happened, my sister said something in an e-mail that changed my whole perspective. She commented that the slightly fewer hours meant I could play with the girls more. Just that one comment suddenly dissipated the dark cloud I'd had about it. I started looking forward to the few more hours per week that I'd have as free time. I no longer resented the change. I wouldn't have chosen it if they'd asked me, but I didn't resent it anymore.
What I learned from this experience is two-fold. 1) There is ALWAYS a silver lining. That silver lining may not be immediate, but it will present itself eventually if we look for it. 2) When we do what the spirit prompts us to do, we are prepared for things. We were able to pay off two small bills with our tax return and the money we got from our van being totaled (that's a different story altogether...). That meant that while we will still notice the smaller paycheck, it won't matter with any essentials. What a huge blessing that we were given a way to cut our monthly budget just in time for such a change. We didn't know it was going to happen, but Heavenly Father did and he prepared us for it. I have several theories about why we were prepared in such a manner, and obviously I have no clue if any are the correct reason. It could be a result of the fact that we pay tithing. It could be a blessing from us paying into the ward mission fund. It could just simply be because the Lord loves us. In any case, we were prepared.
Remember to look for the blessings with the trials. Maybe the car broke down right before or after payday so you could afford to fix it. Maybe someone you love got really sick, but as a result you gained a better understanding of the Atonement. Just a thought.
The Laying of the Sod
This week we laid sod in our backyard. This is a very exciting time for us, as we've had a big mud pit in our backyard for quite some time. Scott had mentioned to our bishop a few weeks before the sod was delivered that we'd be doing this over spring break. The bishop thought it'd be a great idea for the youth in the ward to come help us. (The bishop is mean to the youth and thinks it's good for them to do hard work... I'm sure they will appreciate it later, even if they don't now... :D)
Last Sunday, we mentioned to the youth what we were doing and when. We didn't really expect anyone to come help us lay the sod. That's really hard work and it was during spring break- a time when everyone would have other plans- even if it was just avoiding work. We figured we'd be doing it on our own, even though we hoped a few people would come help so it didn't take the entire day.
A father and son team showed up the morning of and were waiting with Scott in our driveway even before the sod was delivered. By the time we were done, we'd had about 20 people come to help. Some came later than others and some had to leave before we were done. But we had TWENTY people come to help. And to top it off, MOST were the youth. (And I'd like to point out that at least half of the youth were the Young Women. The young women in our ward are TOUGH! :D) We had the sod completely done from start to finish in just under two hours.
This is a huge deal. Scott found out Monday (we laid the sod Tuesday) that his oral defense for his second Master's Degree (yes, SECOND- go SCOTT!) was Tuesday at 10. The sod was scheduled to be delivered at 9. We were stressed about getting the sod laid. We had two worries- one was that no one would come help and I'd be out there alone trying to lay sod while Scott did his defense. The other was that people would come help and Scott would have to leave and go do his oral defense. We knew his defense would take a full hour.
The sod was delivered closer to 9:30 than 9, and as a result, Scott didn't get to do much at all before his defense. But we were 95% done when he came out from his defense- with word that he'd passed and was done with his degree. By about 11:15 the job was entirely done.
We now have a beautiful backyard, and our kids have loved it. We still have some work to do, but it is now all aesthetics that can be done over years and we will still have a nice backyard in the meantime. This is something we have wanted ever since we were married- a nice backyard for our kids to play in.
Work is not a bad thing. Apparently the youth in this ward have learned that well. Not only did they all volunteer to come do a very taxing job, but not of them complained about it once while they were here. They have also obviously learned the value of service. We will always welcome them at our house, but the honest truth of the matter is that they may never enjoy the lawn in our yard. But they still came. I know of at least one of the youth who postponed a trip in order to come help.
Always be willing to serve. Also, always be willing to accept service. I think Heavenly Father wants us to be good at both. Just a thought.
Last Sunday, we mentioned to the youth what we were doing and when. We didn't really expect anyone to come help us lay the sod. That's really hard work and it was during spring break- a time when everyone would have other plans- even if it was just avoiding work. We figured we'd be doing it on our own, even though we hoped a few people would come help so it didn't take the entire day.
A father and son team showed up the morning of and were waiting with Scott in our driveway even before the sod was delivered. By the time we were done, we'd had about 20 people come to help. Some came later than others and some had to leave before we were done. But we had TWENTY people come to help. And to top it off, MOST were the youth. (And I'd like to point out that at least half of the youth were the Young Women. The young women in our ward are TOUGH! :D) We had the sod completely done from start to finish in just under two hours.
This is a huge deal. Scott found out Monday (we laid the sod Tuesday) that his oral defense for his second Master's Degree (yes, SECOND- go SCOTT!) was Tuesday at 10. The sod was scheduled to be delivered at 9. We were stressed about getting the sod laid. We had two worries- one was that no one would come help and I'd be out there alone trying to lay sod while Scott did his defense. The other was that people would come help and Scott would have to leave and go do his oral defense. We knew his defense would take a full hour.
The sod was delivered closer to 9:30 than 9, and as a result, Scott didn't get to do much at all before his defense. But we were 95% done when he came out from his defense- with word that he'd passed and was done with his degree. By about 11:15 the job was entirely done.
We now have a beautiful backyard, and our kids have loved it. We still have some work to do, but it is now all aesthetics that can be done over years and we will still have a nice backyard in the meantime. This is something we have wanted ever since we were married- a nice backyard for our kids to play in.
Work is not a bad thing. Apparently the youth in this ward have learned that well. Not only did they all volunteer to come do a very taxing job, but not of them complained about it once while they were here. They have also obviously learned the value of service. We will always welcome them at our house, but the honest truth of the matter is that they may never enjoy the lawn in our yard. But they still came. I know of at least one of the youth who postponed a trip in order to come help.
Always be willing to serve. Also, always be willing to accept service. I think Heavenly Father wants us to be good at both. Just a thought.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)